Geographic territories are unequal in terms of potential and actual sales volume. Originally they were divided up on the basis of seniority and past performance, the better and most senior employees getting the biggest potential and most important areas of the country.
Turnover is rather high among salespeople assigned to areas that produce the least amount of sales. Management feels that the potential from these geographic areas is about half of what is being produced at present.
Salespeople get commissions of 7 per cent on gross sales, in addition to a set amount for monthly expenses. Neither the commission rate nor expenses vary for the salespeople. Bonus money is not available. All salespeople are offered a pension fund, a credit union, life insurance, and health insurance. The size of the pension fund and the life insurance benefits depends on the size of the salesperson's earnings.
One week of paid vacation is given after one year of service, two weeks after three years, three weeks after six years, and an additional week after each additional 10 years of service. The average length of service of salespeople in the high-producing areas is 12 years, in the lower-producing areas 1.6 years.
The newer salespeople have been complaining that their sales volume (and their earnings) is limited by the small number of potential accounts in their areas compared to those with the larger metropolitan areas within the United States such as New York, Chicago, and Washington, DC.
Salespeople are in constant competition with employees of other hotel companies. Demand for the hotel's accommodation and meeting space is subject to the strength of the economy in the various regions of the United States.
The primary need is to design and implement a program of positive reinforcement that will result in increased sales for the company.
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